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The Han Dynasty was the formative period of feudal society. Because the initial justification for overthrowing the Qin Dynasty was its overly harsh punishments, starting from Liu Bang's adoption of Huang-Lao philosophy, the emphasis on national laws was never particularly strong. Many matters drifted into rule by man. It was only after Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu of Han that laws gradually became stricter, with crimes such as "great sedition" and "disrespect" emerging, and even the charge of "no basis" appearing.
Of course, as a scholar-official, there were still some special privileges, such as being able to avoid punishment through the "Eight Deliberations." The "Eight Deliberations" originated from the "Eight Considerations" of the Western Zhou Dynasty, namely: deliberation for relatives of the emperor, deliberation for old acquaintances of the emperor, deliberation for the virtuous, deliberation for the capable, deliberation for those with meritorious service, deliberation for the high-ranking, deliberation for the diligent, deliberation for guests of the state. These eight categories of people could be reported to the emperor, who would reduce or exempt their punishment based on their status and specific circumstances.
As for ordinary commoners, they couldn't even touch the edges of these Eight Deliberations.
Additionally, two crimes were not within the scope of the Eight Deliberations: great sedition and disrespect.
Therefore, these White Wave soldiers captured by Fei Qian were, first, not within the Eight Deliberations, and second, had committed the crime of great sedition. Thus, their crimes were unforgivable, and the final result was: all buried alive.
Fei Qian stood atop the Pingyang city wall. The blood spilled by both sides in that day's great battle had completely soaked the yellow earth here, presenting a dark brown color. When touched, it seemed to have lost the inherent softness of yellow earth, instead feeling somewhat like muck from a shaded place.
West of Pingyang County town was a range of yellow earth hills. There, nearly two thousand captives were buried alive.
Fei Qian didn't know if future historical records would contain a line belonging to him. Of course, the most likely outcome was nothing, as it was merely two thousand rebels.
If he could access some forum or social media platform now and write about these complex feelings, he'd probably have people following up with furious comments—
"Pretentious bastard…"
Ha.
Ha…
Anyone can be a troll, after all, separated by a screen, completely irresponsible, freely spilling vitriol, writing words without bearing any consequences. Fei Qian himself had done such things in his later life.
Drawing conclusions, making definitions, labeling people, making prophecies, criticizing a person or event—often anyone could stand high above and rant, even finding bones in an egg. But if it were reversed, and one had to truly bend down and do something, not everyone could or would do it. This is human nature, unrelated to good or bad, only related to depth of character.
So-called freedom of speech—"I can criticize however I like"—and statements like "Can't I speak about what you've done?" are actually signs of insufficient depth of character.
And now, being in the Han Dynasty, without a profound character, even a renowned scholar like Mi Heng, protected by his reputation, or Yang Xiu from the supremely powerful Yang family—didn't they still lose their heads in the end?
Ultimately, it still came down to insufficient power in his own hands.
But giving this order to bury alive was truly not easy.
Fei Qian from his later life was just an ordinary person, an ordinary office worker. Having come to the Han Dynasty for only about two years, where would he have acquired decisive judgment in life and death, or a heart of iron? Do these things simply appear when called for, ready at a moment's notice?
With shovelful after shovelful of yellow earth thrown down, among the White Wave soldiers bound at the bottom of the pit, some screamed, some begged for mercy, some cursed in rage, some muttered imprecations, and some were numb, silent and indifferent. But in the end, all was covered under the cascading yellow earth, finally falling silent, becoming a level plain…
Fei Qian originally didn't need to go to the site, but he decided to go himself. At the very least, he wanted to see with his own eyes and remember these people who died because of his decision.
Though he couldn't bear it, these White Wave soldiers had to die.
This was still the Han Dynasty. The Han Emperor remained the most sacred figure recognized by the entire scholar-official class, indeed all Han person. Including Fei Qian himself, including Jia Qu, Huang Cheng, Ma Yue, even the recruited Hu people—all existed under this unspoken rule. Since he was a beneficiary of this established order, turning around to show sympathy to these White Wave rebels who broke the rules, without sufficient power or background, such behavior could easily become a path to self-destruction.
That was the dignified, official-sounding reason.
Moreover, the White Wave army was not yet eliminated; several of its leaders were still at large. Even if there were to be amnesty and recruitment, it would first target the leaders, the commanders, not these ordinary soldiers. Besides, his current forces were limited. Even if he wished to absorb these soldiers, having a ratio of original troops to surrendered troops as high as 1:1—this risk was not something Fei Qian's small frame could bear at present.
This was the real, helpless reason.
As the saying goes, "In the jianghu, one cannot always do as one wishes." And Fei Qian, being in the Han Dynasty, was also not free to act as he wished.
Though Fei Qian had considered keeping these people here or escorting them to Northern Bend, neither was very realistic. If they were coerced common people, Fei Qian would have retained them no matter what. But these captives were all combat soldiers. This…
There was no time to win their hearts, no manpower to guard these White Wave combat soldiers already stained with blood. People are inherently lazy. Just as Hu people were accustomed to heading south when lacking resources, how many of these men, who had abandoned their fields and taken up arms, would still harbor the notion of diligent farming?
Fei Qian himself was walking a tightrope now. It didn't just concern himself, but also Cai Yong's family, the Huang clan, even including people like Huang Cheng and Cui Hou who had followed him to the northern territories, and those ordinary soldiers. What right did Fei Qian have to risk these people's lives to display his own kindness and virtue?
To gamble on the other party's kindness and gratitude versus the risks he himself would bear?
He couldn't afford to gamble!
At least at this juncture, he absolutely couldn't afford it. He had no reputation, no land, no military strength. Even a simple instigation could very likely cause these people to riot and rebel again.
I'm sorry. My apologies.
So, please be on your way…
If I had more power now, greater strength, you might have lived…
But all I could do was that bowl of thin gruel before you left this world…
What I need now is to be responsible to those who have already entrusted their lives and families to me. Only then can I consider others. Otherwise, it would be the greatest harm to those who trust me.
Though reason told him he was right, this still went against his emotions, burying them alive.
This feeling of being weak and powerless, unable to control things, was exceptionally distressing for Fei Qian.
Fei Qian rubbed off the dark brown yellow earth clinging to his hands, but it seemed he could never rub off the oily, sticky sensation that had stained his palms.
At Hangu Pass, he had personally killed a man.
Below Pingyang City, he had ordered two thousand White Wave soldiers buried alive.
Perhaps in the future, he would kill even more people…
Jia Qu walked over slowly, saluting Fei Qian with cupped hands. "Does the Commander have some reflections?"
"When the earth is exhausted, grass and trees do not grow; when the waters are troubled, fish and turtles do not grow large; when the vital energy declines, living things do not thrive; when the world is chaotic, rites become perverse and music becomes licentious. Whose fault is it? The earth's? The grass's? The water's? The fish's?" Of course, Fei Qian couldn't tell Jia Qu about his personal feelings, so he steered the conversation towards grand, philosophical themes—the best topics for such discussions.
This type of question naturally had no standard answer. Subjective and objective factors were always a contradictory, endlessly debated pair in philosophy.
What Fei Qian said could, of course, be extended to the current political situation. If the grass grows crooked, the fish are deformed, can all the blame be placed on the grass and fish? But the so-called earth and water are objective existences; how could they be at fault?
Jia Qu remained silent for a moment, then said, "'Do not teach idleness and desire; be vigilant and diligent.' Heaven's order has its rules; enforce them with the five constants. Heaven's hierarchy has its rites; the five rites have their application. Heaven's mandate recognizes virtue; the five distinctions and five insignias. Heaven punishes the guilty; the five punishments have their use. Does the Commander not think so?"
Hearing this, Fei Qian turned to look at Jia Qu, then suddenly smiled. "Liangdao, your understanding of governance has deepened!"
Jia Qu saluted with cupped hands, thanking Fei Qian for the praise.
Jia Qu was not wrong. As a subject of the Great Han Dynasty, he naturally needed to fulfill his duties, sharing the dynasty's burdens. Other matters should not be the primary concern at present.
Of course, Jia Qu also somewhat intended this to express his support for Fei Qian. Therefore, Fei Qian sincerely praised him in return as a gesture of thanks.
Fei Qian composed himself, returning to the current situation. Although he had repelled one White Wave attack, the overall circumstances were still far from optimistic…